Yep - I'm still alive

I know, I have been very quiet recently. I have been writing, just not here. I actually started a new blog, in preparation for my first novel. It is my author page, here.

Apart from that, I have been querying agents in an effort to get traditionally published. That's hard. I mean, yes it is hard to get traditionally published, but even more difficult is the querying part. First, you have to get a list of agents who are open to submissions, and who are interested in your genre. Then you have to write a killer query letter. There is quite a bit of information on the internet, on how to do this, but no one can actually write your query letter for you. That is something you have to do for yourself. It is easier to write an entire novel. 

So, I have been sending off between two and five queries every other day, while at the same time working on the second novel. I have been slowly getting back some rejections, which is better than the alternative which is total silence. I try not to dream of that one request for a full manuscript. Apart from the disappointment of not actually getting that, there is still the distinct possibility that once they read a full manuscript, they will still reject it.

I decided that I would send out queries to my entire list of agents, then wait four to six weeks. If I don't get an offer of representation at that stage, I will self publish. With that in mind I have already formatted my manuscript for publication on Amazon, well, KDP to be correct and I have created a cover for it. I am fairly sure the cover will change because I am not completely satisfied with it, but I wanted to get to a point where I was comfortable using the KDP site. Things there have changed a lot since I published Peeling The Onion.

So yes, I have been busy. 

When I thought I had completed the first manuscript, I sent it off to a number of beta readers. Based on their feedback I made a number of changes. Then I left it sit on the back shelf while I tried to forget it and worked on number two. A couple of months later, I picked the first one up again and realized it needed some drastic changes. The opening pages changed completely and I added a whole new plot twise and almost twenty thousand words. Of course, that all meant I needed to go back into revision mode. But the end result I believe, is a lot better.

My next task is to get beta readers for my second novel. Please excuse me if I go silent again. This writing thing has me hooked.